RIDE ALONG DVD (2014)

SYNOPSIS: For the past two years, high-school security guard Ben (Hart) has been trying to show decorated APD detective James (Cube) that he’s more than just a video-game junkie who’s unworthy of James’ sister, Angela (Tika Sumpter). When Ben finally gets accepted into the academy, he thinks he’s earned the seasoned policeman’s respect and asks for his blessing to marry Angela. Knowing that a ride along will demonstrate if Ben has what it takes to take care of his sister, James invites him on a shift designed to scare the hell out of the trainee. But when the wild night leads them to the most notorious criminal in the city, James will find that his new partner’s rapid-fire mouth is just as dangerous as the bullets speeding at it.

MOVIE REVIEW:

It’s like the tough cop, foul-mouthed character (played by Ice Cube) in 21 Jump Street just got a movie of his movie, unfortunately compared to the latter, this one is far less funny and even less inspiring.

Ice Cube plays James Payton, a detective with the Atlanta police force who is investigating for leads about a mysterious arms smuggler named Omar. But when his fast-talking, soon-to-be brother-in-law, Ben Barber (Kevin Hart) asks him for his blessing to marry his sister Angela (Tika Sumpter), James decides to bring Ben for a ride along to prove his worthiness for his sister’s love. Things quickly went south and the duo finds themselves in hotter soup than they expect.

The buddy cop comedy genre has been done to death over the years. Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan did one some time back and bombed. Jackie Chan might be too preoccupied to do another Rush Hour and Eddie Murphy probably won’t have a chance to do another 48 Hours given his diminishing star power. Don’t even bring up the name Mel Gibson, its likely taboo in Hollywood.

So what’s left is Ice Cube and rising comedian Kevin Hart. Cube manages to scowl and grunt for most of the running time while Hart is left yapping from start to finish. There’s even a joke in the movie that he tries to talk himself out of every situation and that’s remarkably true. The guy can seriously talk for hours in his high-pitch helium-like voice without missing a beat.

Helmer Tim Story (The Fantastic Four and the remake of Taxi) just let the cameras roll in front of Hart for the most while occasionally throwing in a car chase, a gigantic explosion and a silly gunplay to justify its presence as an action comedy. Morpheus himself appears towards the end of the movie and no prizes for guessing who he plays.

Hardly showcasing any effort for reinventing the genre, Ride Along is mere passable entertainment for the masses. For the record, a sequel is already in the works.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

NIL

AUDIO/VISUAL:

The DVD feature crisp, clear images and the Dolby Digital 5.1 offers a sonic soundfield at selected points of the movie.